The present invention relates to fluid delivery line assemblies, and more specifically to fluid delivery line assemblies with shut-off valve assemblies.
Fluid delivery lines are used to deliver fluid from a fluid source to a fluid-powered device or a fluid circuit. Fluid circuits such as natural gas lines are usually buried underground, which makes them generally difficult to access.
In some cases, the fluid delivery line includes a simple conduit such as a pipe. For various reasons, the conduit may become damaged and fluid may leak into the soil around the conduit. In this case, there may be a delay between the formation of the leak and the moment that the leak is detected by a person standing above ground over the conduit or by an operator remote from the conduit. During this delay, an important amount of fluid could be wasted and/or could infiltrate and pollute the soil around the conduit, or even make the soil unstable. If the fluid is natural gas, a leak could even create a danger of explosion.
Some fluid delivery lines may include a mechanical shut-off valve which would automatically prevent fluid from being delivered through the conduit if a fluid leak is detected. Unfortunately, with most valves, the entire fluid delivery line needs to be dug up to reset the valve and allow once again fluid to flow through the fluid delivery line once a leak is detected and the valve has been activated, which may involve significant work and costs.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a fluid delivery line assembly which would overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.